MBB | Voyageurs Lose Nail-Biter to Mustangs
The Laurentian Voyageurs lost a nail-biter on Saturday afternoon against the Western Mustangs by a score of 88-82 as they were eliminated from the playoffs.
Both teams were evenly matched on paper and proved this to be the case on the hardwood in OUA Quarterfinal action as both started out strongly in the first quarter. The Voyageurs exhibited spectacular ball movement throughout the entire match. A few highlight reel plays included a spectacular pass from Litha Ncanisa- after a series of small passes to other players – to Gaetan Chamand who made no mistake scoring a three-point bucket. Another play involved veteran guard Haoun Mohamed who grabbed a rebound seemingly out of nowhere and fed it to Kadre Gray who would make no mistake in scoring a three-point bucket. At this point in the match, the Voyageurs led 18-12. But the Mustangs refused to go away and replied with a 7-0 run to take a one-point lead. Another spectacular play occurred late in the quarter when Mohamed sent a very accurate lob to Chamand for a beautiful alley-oop. The Voyageurs regained a one-point lead through this play but unfortunately, they would not be able to hold onto this lead when the quarter came to an end as the Mustangs led by a score 24-22.
The Voyageurs came out firing in the second quarter, as Gray intercepted a pass and was off to the races with Mohamed as support. They both played back-and-forth with each other near the net and ultimately Gray scored an easy but elegant bucket for two points. But Gray was not finished there as on the next Voyageur scoring play, he drained a Steph Curry like three to give the Voyageurs a three point lead. At this point in time, the Voyageurs led 31-28. A back-and-forth between the teams would soon ensue and involved another great play from the Voyageurs when Sam Ivey drained a three pointer with the opposing player's hand in his face. Soon, the second quarter would come to an and the Voyageurs entered the half with a five-point lead as the scoreboard read 47-42.
The Voyageurs shot 53.3% from the field in the first half and were led by Kadre Gray with 22 points, two rebounds and four assists and was trailed closely by Gaetan Chamand with 10 points and one rebound. On the other hand, the Mustangs shot 46.2% from the field and were led by Omar Shiddo with 20 points and one assist and was followed closely by Aaron Tennant with 10 points and four rebounds.
Early in the third quarter, the Mustangs went on an 8-0 run to take a two point lead but the Voyageurs responded soon after with a pair of three-point buckets from Gray and Mohamed. Soon, Joseph Hlady joined in on the action and drained a three-point bucket of his own to stretch the Voyageur lead to five points. At this stage, the Voyageurs led 57-52. Next, both teams jostled to gain supremacy but neither would be successful in achieving it and ultimately, the Voyageurs carried a three-point lead into the fourth quarter. The scoreboard read 61-58 in favour of the Voyageurs.
The fourth quarter was the most tantalizing quarter of them all. The Mustangs came out slightly stronger than the Voyageurs as they grabbed a two-point lead via a three-point bucket by Julian Walker with 2:07 in the quarter. But Gray had thoughts of his own as he replied with a three-point bucket of his own to regain a one-point Voyageur lead. However, the Mustangs followed Gray's three with a 9-0 run to establish an eight point lead with 5:13 remaining in the match. Consequently, at this stage the Mustangs led 74-66. Litha Ncanisa would then end this run by scoring a layup and reducing the lead to six points. But the Mustangs refused to give in and would continue to stretch their lead. Nikola Farkic and Shiddo added five points to give the Mustangs an 11-point cushion with 2:49 remaining in the match. This lead was eventually cut down to six points when the Voyageurs stepped up their defensive intensity by applying full court pressure. They managed to cause a Mustang turnover that ultimately resulted in Gray shooting and converting two free throws and this play was followed by another full court pressure that resulted in yet another turnover by the Mustangs which then allowed Gray to score two points via a lay up. The Mustang lead at this point in time was reduced to just four points with 1:25 remaining.
Next, Ivey accrued a foul that sent Shiddo to the free throw and he would convert both of his attempts to give the Mustangs a six point lead. However, the Voyageurs responded soon in empathic fashion as Chamand drained a three-point bucket to cut the lead to three points and then the Voyageurs caused yet another turnover which eventually landed in the safe hands of Sam Ivey who would redeem himself for the earlier foul and drained a jump shot to put the Voyageurs within one point of the Mustangs with 55 seconds to go. Unfortunately for the Voyageurs, they could not buy a bucket after this point. The situation got even worse when Kadre Gray fouled out with 34 seconds remaining in the match. In the end, the Voyageurs were unable to score and lost the match by a score of 88-82.
The Mustangs shot 47.0% from the field for the entire match and were led by Shiddo with 41 points, one rebound and one assist and was followed closely by Tennant with 13 points, nine rebounds and one assist. Conversely, the Voyageurs shot 44.3% from the field for the entire match and were led by Kadre Gray with 39 points, five rebounds and seven assists and was trailed closely by Gaetan Chamand with 13 points and three rebounds.
The Voyageurs finish the 2019-2020 regular season with a record of 16-6 and as the seventh best team in the country. The team achieved a remarkable feat this season and have nothing to be ashamed of. They will now regroup and replan for a championship run next season.
Wali Khan